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Saturday, November 08, 2008

John Majhor in the CAB Hall of Fame

On Tuesday, November 4th, 2008, John Majhor was posthumously inducted into the Canadian Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame. John was honored for his legacy as a Toronto radio disc jockey, a pioneer in the format of music video "VJ"-ing, his work for Aboriginal Voices Radio, and more. You can read more here.

A video tribute created especially for the ceremony can be viewed in the "About Me" section of John's MySpace profile.

Congratulations to John's family, and to John, wherever he may be.

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Sunday, March 25, 2007

John Majhor Memorial Party

Those of you who've asked about possible memorials for John will be pleased to know there's one right around the corner. Here's the scoop:

WHAT
An evening of fond and bawdy remembrances of John Majhor.

WHEN
Sunday, May 27th, 2007 -- 2:00 PM

WHERE
The Second City
51 Mercer Street
(beside Gretzky's at 99 Blue Jay's Way)
Toronto, Ontario

(Cash bar and menu available.)

Admission is free but if you plan to attend, we ask that you a) RSVP, and b) make a donation in John's name to Habitat for Humanity.

For more information and to RSVP, send a note to afraser_rhodes@rogers.com.

See you there!

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Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Tributes to & Memories of John

Take a few moments to visit these links:

CHUM -- Click the link on the main page, or click here.

City TV -- A terrific tribute, and a priceless video clip of John hosting Toronto Rocks.

Toronto Star -- They published a feature on John last month. We'll post it soon.

Southern Ontario/WNY Radio-TV Forum -- The messages keep coming.

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Tuesday, January 23, 2007

John Has Passed

Dear Friends:

John passed away this morning at 7:05, local time. He was surrounded by his family. His passing was peaceful.

Per his wishes, John's remains will be cremated and a small service held, attended by family. His ashes will be scattered in South Dakota, near the home in which he grew up, most likely in the spring.

Please continue to post your remembrances of John here on his MySpace page. It has been wonderful seeing everyone meet here and renew past friendships. You know John is loving it. His family reads your messages, and they have been a tremendous source of comfort, affirmation and humor these past weeks.

There are plans for a memorial in the coming months. We will keep you posted here.

For those of you who have asked, Majhor.com should be up and running again soon. Keep checking.

***

Walter John Majhor was born on November 28th, 1953. He was 53 years old.

Dreamer, romantic, curmudgeon, husband, father, son, brother, uncle, friend and big bad boss jock.

Laugh all you want, John. We knuckleheads left behind will miss you. You've no one to blame but yourself.

***

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Thursday, January 18, 2007

E-Mails to John, Plus New Pictures

Just a quick note to everyone -- John's MySpace e-mail messages are not being read, in deference to both John and his family, and to those of you who have sent John messages that are meant to be private. Until John's family has the opportunity to read and, if they choose, respond to those e-mails, your best bet is to post your messages to John as comments, or blog comments.

Also, we've uploaded a handful of terrific photos of John from back in the day. If anyone else has any, or links to audio or video, please let us know and we'll either post them here or link to them.

Lastly, there's no real news to report on John's condition other than what has already been posted. We promise we'll let you know if there's any change. In the meantime, you guys have been wonderful beyond words with your righteous show of love and support for John. Keep the goodness coming, and spread the word. Thanks!

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Monday, January 15, 2007

The Latest On John

Dear Friends:

This note is being written by one of John's friends, at the request of his family.

If you've read his blog or spoken with him, you know that John has been very frank in describing to everyone his illness, and his feelings about it, and about life. You know John – he's not one to sugar-coat much of anything. So we know, and you know, that he would want all of you to know the truth of his current condition.

John's cancer has progressed far more rapidly than even his doctors expected. The radiation treatment that he underwent last October to shrink the lesions in his brain was ineffective. John had decided beforehand that he would seek no further treatment. His family supports his decision, because it is his decision.

John has also decided to spend his remaining days at home, with his family, rather than in hospital. That is where he is now, at home.

As of this writing, it is expected that John may pass in a few days. It might be longer. There is no way to measure such things. But it is clear that John is in the end stage of his illness.

You will be comforted to know that John is surrounded by his family, who are providing exceptional care for him and cradling him with their love. He is not in any pain, and though thin, he's still a handsome fella. There is music playing constantly in his room – the Beatles, Joni Mitchell, all of John's favorites.

At this point, John has little awareness of his surroundings. Occasionally, he will open his eyes, see who is with him, and smile, before slipping back into sleep. Those around him say they feel John has made his peace.

If you have sent John an e-mail that has gone unanswered, understand that this is why. Know, however, that John read your messages for as long as he was able, even though he was unable to respond to you. Your love and support and friendship means so very much to him, and he wants everyone to know that.

Please feel welcome to post messages to John in the Comments section here on his MySpace page. In fact, we encourage you to do so. His family will make certain he knows. Now's the time to show him all of your love, affection, friendship and support.

We'll keep you posted on John's condition. In the meantime, keep a good thought. Keep a picture in your mind of big, blunt, growly, handsome John, laughing his big laugh. Send him a smile, and keep him and his family in your prayers.

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Wednesday, December 27, 2006

Hey...wake up....INCOMING NEWS FLASH!!!

Hope you had a Merry Freakin' Christmas!!!!

(Been a bit weird around here)

'Cept for this part...Yummm..

More pics, gossip, news, thank yous and some sticky stuff I got on my new PJ's, which I won't go into here...coming up soon...

BE PATIENT!!!

jm

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Wednesday, December 13, 2006

Pushy, pushy...
Current mood:

amused

"Gotta get the whole article up, Johnny"

"OK..what do you mean?"

"The scan Cameron Gordon sent."

"Yeah, but..."

"Come on, man."

Alrighty...so here it is, the scan of the A&E Section of the Toronto Star from Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2006.

Link For SLOW Connections

Oh, and one more thing. I'm not really qulaified to critique, but here comes some...from the heart. I've had a lot of stuff written about me over the decades I've been in the entertainment field.

Generally speaking, these writers turned out to be deadline-driven, pull-quote seekers who cared a lot more about the next hip party they needed to get invited to and the REAL celeb they WANTED to interview.

Can't blame 'em on the last part. BUT...I always believed that no matter how insignificant the interview, you put the same passion into it as you did the significant one. Apparently there are very few who think the way I do. Cameron Gordon is one of the few. He cared about this thing from inception to execution. He sold it to the folks at The Toronto Star and crafted a tight and wonderful piece that made me and my family feel really good for the first time in along time.

I've hypertext linked Cameron's name, above, to his website, where you can read a lot more by this guy.

A big THANKS to you Cam!

jm and "The Team" - (Sarit, June, Ginny, Andrea, Chris, Jon)

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Tuesday, December 12, 2006

Online with the Toronto Star
Current mood:

excited

The Toronto Star online edition is running a piece on me on their front page. Thanks to KATO for hooking up with Cam... and Thank YOU freelance scribe extraordinaire, Cam Gordon, who wrote it.
Bless you, boys.

Here's the link:

TORONTO STAR ONLINE

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Wednesday, December 06, 2006

Thrilling Days of YesterYear..kinda
Current mood:

relaxed

The Smutty Bear

Ma-Ta-Sa-Be-Zi-A

_________ . ________

Swindler, A. Zeno (Antonio Zeno), 1823-1899

Addis Gallery

308 Pennsylvania Avenue

Washington, DC

Taken between December of 1857 & April 1858

The Smutty Bear was a Yankton chief of the Sioux, upper Missouri region, Dakota Territory. He was a member of one of many delegations who visited Washington, DC at the height of treaty negotiations with multiple tribes.

Why am I putting the Smutty Bear up for you all to see? Well, one reason is that it's kinda cool that one of my G.G.G.-Grandfathers was a cool Indian chief guy.The Smutty (Dark) Bear. Also, I got a few emails from folks who haven't seen my website, where there's a lot more ancestral fare. (BTW, I have no idea how many "greats" there are supposed to be. Let me know if you know!!)

I'm ¼ Sioux and 1/32 Assiniboine Indian. My father was born and raised on a reservation in Poplar, Montana and went to a technical school on a reservation in Oregon.

He died the day before my sixth birthday.

We never really knew much about his side of the family, because he played that stuff pretty close to the vest with my mom. Her family didn't exactly approve of her marriage to a half-breed and he wanted so much to assimilate and be a normal part of American white society.

As such, no one knew we had a whole passel of relatives out in the Pacific Northwest, fostered by his brother Gilbert Majhor. There are nearly 150 of them out there. My two brothers and I, until 1989, believed we were the last living Majhors (spelled with an "h").

I was working as an anchor at E! Entertainment Television and got a postcard from a woman claiming to be a relative. I passed it to my brother, Phil and upon investigation he discovered the lost treasure trove of Majhor DNA. That led to some sharing of information, but alas, we'd been so isolated from them, it was like we were continents apart and to this day, we rarely have any communication.

My cousin, June Majhor Johnson from up around the Portland area, has spent a lot of time over the years researching any archive she could get her hands on to try and understand who these folks were. She's found a ton of papers and pictures of that era, records of my Great (Great–Great????) Grandfather William John's adventures in polygamy and running AWOL from the Civil War (Real proud of you there, Gramps!!) after taking money to "stand in" for a Northern gentleman who chose to pay and not fight. (Actually, way to go, Gramps!)

There's just so much hidden through the passage of time, careless or sloppy record keeping, illiteracy…piecing it together is an Herculean task. My hat's off to her for all the time she's spent!

Check the gallery of family photos on my website, if you haven't been there already.

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Thursday, November 30, 2006

One Thing Leads to Another....
Current mood:

cheerful

Just Click on the Microphone - Thanks, Lee!!

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Tuesday, November 28, 2006

It's Killin' Me, Man
Current mood:SANGUINE!!

I want to thank Kathleen in Charleston, a listener of The Bridge at 105.5, (the Classic Hits station I helped create a couple of years ago) for sparking me to write this blog, the result of a brief exchange we had a week or so ago.

You know what's killing me? It's not the cancer. Yeah, I thought it was. Hey, you thought it was, right? The doctors are convinced (because they always have to be right, right?) The cancer is a factor, true. But it's not what's killing me.

What's killing me is that I cannot do what I do.

Since I left Binghamton, NY in February to come be with my Mom and Sister, I have not worked. OK... Sure, I did some freelance voice over work, thanks to my mentor, the enigmatic Bob Wood, became the voice of the Aboriginal Radio Network in Canada (an honor for me, as I'm ¼ Sioux and 1/32 Assiniboine) and pre-recorded a weekly radio show for the Blind Tiger Pubs in Binghamton as a favor for the owners to be broadcast on the local oldies station there. That all ended abruptly in August.

I haven't done a daily live radio show, the one thing I've consistently done for over 30 years for a looooong time now and the prospect of never again being able to be in full form, rockin' out LIVE… it's killing me, too.

I don't know if you have a passion in your life.

I hope there's something that's as important to you as breathing, as exhilarating in its execution as flying down the highway at 100 miles an hour taking a high, hot turn without so much as a hint of a loss of control.
Y'know? That one thing, no matter other people's opinions or like or dislike of it…it is something of yours. That one singular something that helps to define you, a something that you just can't live without doing. Hobby, job, avocation…whatever.

Mine's broadcasting.

Mine's verbal or musical expression of myself, whether it's silly or serious, deft or ham-handed…it's that verbal expression tied to music or current events that unfolds over a three or four hour period in which I've researched, sought out meaning, distilled into a regular place and time for sharing from me to you. I don't even care if you like it or not. I am not in the thrall of approval, it's not bout you loving me so I can feel fulfilled. The fulfillment comes merely from the doing of it. The passion of it. The substance or lack thereof… of it.

No outlet.

BUT WAIT, you blithering, self-pitying idiot. You've got the blogs, you can podcast, you can do those things and still get the word out.

Yeah…no. Nice one, but that ain't it. That's like telling Jeff Gordon he can fulfill his need for speed with that highlight reel over there. It's not about the content, really, it's about the DOING, the rush, the thrill, the spike of peak emotion that courses through my veins, my soul as I crack open the microphone and tell the most compelling story I've just written or the stupidest joke someone told me or how a song could have possibly made it out of the head of a lifelong heroin junkie to have an impact on "straights" everywhere.

And I can't believe this. I'm retired. Out of the game, but find myself still checking all the radio sites to find out the latest gossip. Who got fired/hired, tossed on their ass, promoted, scored big with a client. Calling into old chums to get the latest down and dirty, like I was still in this game. Shit! That's not even part of the passion and i'm suckin' it up like a hog at the trough.

Oh, God, it's whining. I can hear it in my head. It sounds like I'm whining about it and not doing... "Shut up Maj, stop the freakin' whining you big baby.".... something about it.

Shit.

Maybe I will.

Maybe I can.

I…just...don't…know.

The throat and tongue…total rebellion. I just can't get words out without slurring half of them. My own family doesn't understand me as much as they did a month ago, even in regular conversation sitting across the dining table!

Friends and family are noticing but no one's saying anything about it. Why? Well, 'cause they're scared. They're afraid it's gonna freak me out because THEY know how much it is my life, how much it means and how quickly it could kill me if I let the fact I'll never do this again, that solitary notion, rise as a concept in my head and soul. They're protecting me from...ME.
Foolish, lovely delicious family and friends. Did you think I just got off the boat?

I have a couple of projects some dear, wonderful, loyal and amazing friends/clients are waiting for, but they refuse to hear that their wait is in vain, since what they hired me for will not emanate from this throat (which is cancer-ridden, as is the rest of my body).
My studio is not set up. The sound-proof booth I had intended to build for the VO work has now gone by the wayside, all the money gone to pay for finishing the room before I had intended so I could get everything set up for the arrival of the rest of my household goods and the savior of my life, my beloved Sarit, to boot.

Nope, I don't really know what to do about this, really. I suppose I could generate some drama for all the girls in the house here and begin a rampage of self-loathing, sprinkled with doses of extreme behavior, crying jags, a lot of throwing shit, neglecting my hygiene (well, that may be going a bit too far). Or I could just roll with it, sanguine that the throat will heal nicely and I'll be back on the air before long.
Oh, wait, that's totally delusional...I'm supposed to be incurably ill and we're all just patiently waiting around here following news of this development for the word that I've gone to meet my maker.

I tell ya, man. It's killin' me.

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Friday, November 24, 2006

Hats off to Baldy!!
Current mood:

crazy

Look, I'm as vain a guy as there is, I guess. I can pretend losing all this hair is no big deal, but to be honest, my hair has always been one of my sexiest features...to me. I've grown it really long, cut it short-short, henna'd but never dyed it. I hate gels and "product". I prefer to do just a quick blow dry and be on my way. I like it long, then I hate it long. Consensus is long from the females who ventured forth with unsolicited opinions. My second marriage almost didn't happen because I cut it the day before...cut it real short. Danced by myself a lot at the Park Ballroom at the Inn on the Park in Toronto that day. But I digress (next time I'll digress more fondly).

Anyway, this radiation induced "hair falling out" bit has now gotten to be a little much, since it's getting cool here in Minnesota and going out requires SOME form of covering, purely for health reasons, n'est-ce pas? Forget fashion.

Except.. for... the vanity thing.

I perused the lovely, "take one, leave one" selection at the Oncology Department at Ridgeview here in Waconia. They have a cute little hat tree in the lobby with a wide selection of hats. But... all for girls, natch.
I'm a hat guy...love 'em. And, I have baseball caps, stocking caps, even a topper from Africa some kid gave me when I visited there back in the summer of '71. Yeah..it still fits. Better, though, now that I'm nearly bald.

So here's a view of all the little chapeaus I have in the current arsenal. NONE of which I like and some are just plain uncomfortable, especially my beloved baseball caps. Grrr...

The winner, bought for $6.99 at a Holiday Gas station is revealed at the end.

This is what i like, it covers my ears(s) and gives me some raconteur/scoundrel goofball effect, whilst covering and not irritating the scalp. Got somethingbetter? Send me the pics in your comments. Maybe there will be something better for me to be seen in!!!!

Ready?? (Just click the pic..you'll be taken offsite to view the slideshow..Sorry dialup firends, it takes a long time to load. Go to the pics section and the anticlimactic winner will be revealed.)

View this video montage created at One True Media

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Saturday, November 18, 2006

Dead Man Talking To Himself
Current mood:

hungry

Anybody bored with all this yet? I sure as hell am and judging by the drop off in page hits and contributions, most everyone else is, as well.

So what?

Well, here's what!!!

Went to see the fine and dandy Dr. Sperduto and his liaison nurse Terry Hoelz yesterday for a "consult", emphasis on the first vowel, since we wrapped up the radiation and stopped the $40,000 pill intake nearly three weeks ago.

Weight Loss: Well, kids, I don't recommend it, but this has been the most fab weight loss program I've ever been on and I've done a few (Thanks to Dr. Atkins for helping kick the crap outta my kidneys!).

Starting weight (disregard what you've read elsewhere) was 232 pounds. Going obese IMHO. That was mid-August.

Today, ladies and gentlemen, the boy is now tipping scales at a mere 188 pounds.

44 pounds in 90 days!!!

Well don't that just take the steam outta your shorts?

We now go to Bobs Yeruncle live with Mr. Majhor from his luxurious basement apartment in an undisclosed location in Minnesota...

"So how do you feel, Maj?"

"Well, Bobs, I gotta say, before yesterday I felt like a kidnapped passenger on a high-speed nausea-coaster. Food tasted like poo. My back and the other cancer riddled areas made me feel like needing a hell of a lot more than the mere 120mg a day of morphine I've been washin' down every 12hours...PLUS, I still got no, nada, zero, zippo libido for months."

"OK, John, thanks for sharing that last bit."

"Hey, Bobs Yeruncle, you asked."

"Right, so to get back to how you're feeling…didn't you get introduced to something new in a meeting with your doctor yesterday?"

"Holy crap, Bob, how do you know this stuff? Who you been talking to?"

"Well, let's just say I have a deep info source."

"I'll say you do, bucko…OK, you're right. Dr. Paul, as he likes to be called, was trying to figure out how to get me to eat more and take away some of the residual pain my daily dose of Morphine wasn't handling. The Tarceva (that's the $40,000 pill I've been whining about) was a true appetite killer and the radiation didn't help, so even though I had finished them both nearly three weeks ago, I wasn't getting much beyond...'oh, hey a salad looks good. Uhm…well, I didn't really like the taste of it…' much to my Mom and Sarit's disappointment.

So as we're talking about pain management, Dr. Sperduto suggested a steroid called Dexamethasone. It's apparently what Jerry Lewis was on all those years when his face and body were bloated and he looked like he was about to explode. Sarit and I looked at each other and said 'No way!!' However, this would be only a fraction of the dosage Mr. Lewis endured 2mg tab once a day."

Uhm...Can get outta the fake interview mode here?

Thanks, I hate writing dialogue, even though I'm just soooo good at it.

8^D

So, longer story longer, I agreed and took my first dose yesterday afternoon. Kids, I gotta tell you, in just 5 hours, the pain I'd been nursing in my back and in the lower left quadrant of my stomach was just a slight ache. The appetite came back and I actually devoured a Subway salad, some of Mom's home-baked banana bread and later in the evening a Honeycrisp apple and some mozzarella cheese.

What The F**k??????

Ok, even though the hair on my head has now begun to fall out of my head in true post-radiation fashion, I'm sitting here after five hours of sleep feeling like a million bucks. Hardly any pain. No fatigue, I could use a bite of something to eat (that's definitely a side-effect, according to the literature)…but I think I'll stop here.

Dexamethasone – who knew?

In a week I may be cursing it.

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Monday, November 06, 2006

A Dream Come to Life
Current mood:

cheerful

...or part of it anyway.

I didn't get to meet her, but I DID get to go see her last night. Shawn Colvin played the O'Shaughnessy Auditorium in St. Paul as part of the Women of Substance series, which (Duh) includes women that really do matter, like Etta James, to name one.

My deepest thank you to a woman whom I've never had the pleasure of meeting F2F, have never heard the sound of her voice, and MIGHT only know her if she were to dress in the same garb as in her old photos on her MySpace Pics Page.

Her name's Amy G. - she's one hell of a graphic artist, did her time making future superstars outta "artists" a few years back and has been around the record business for as long as some of you all reading this have been alive. Amy caught one of my earliest blogs..something I was whining about caught her out and landed her H, L & Sinker. And we've been fast friends ever since. I think she was trying to pick me up. At least let me flatter myself with that hope.

Turns out she knows of my desire to meet Shawn Colvin and my love for her tunes. She mentioned she could get me seats for the show here and having had my share of band seats, will-call pickups, backstage passes, etc, I took her up on her offer to get me seats anyway.

Delicious seats, Amy. Delicious show Shawn. You're a great looking gal and you don't look near 50!

Brandi Carlile opened the show. This young'un's going places if she can catch a break or two and show the world what she's got. You will love her.

So just wanted to blog my Thanks and my Experience with a capital E.

As an aside. In 20 years, this was likely, as I can now just dimly recall, the first and only time Sarit and I have gone on a DATE and didn't end up pissed the hell off at each other. We didn't even so much as throw a stinging barb at one another, sling any self-heating sarcastic wit or accuse the other of looking at a hot looking (insert appropriate gender here).

What the f***?.

Something changed. Did I have to get an incurable disease for that?

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John

Last Updated: 11/8/2008

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Gender: Male
Status: Single
Age: 56
Sign: Sagittarius

City: YOUNG AMERICA
State: MINNESOTA

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